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We are totally in love with these...smart and subtle 'above the line' with a fabulously quirky sole below - a bit like the Dodo Pad!

We offer you or the men in your life the perfect office sock. Ridiculously soft socks that add colour to the soles of men across the globe. Made from an optimal fibre composition: 80% luxury combed cotton (for softness), 18% nylon (for strength) and 2% elastane (for stretch), these socks have hand-linked toes for comfort, reinforced heels for longevity and an extra two inches of length to keep any hairy legs hidden! Fully machine washable at 40 degrees C. (Sock size 9-11).

In a range of 8 different designs, each celebrates the life or action a historic rebel - each pair comes complete with the story of its pattern:

Agent ZigZagCelebrates the rebellious life of Eddie Chapman, a.k.a. Agent Zigzag (1914-1997), who went from unruly criminal to unsung war-hero. From his Jersey prison cell, Chapman duped the Nazi occupiers into parachuting him back onto English soil by offering himself as a German spy. Yet on landing, he sauntered into MI6 and became Britain’s most remarkable double-agent. Through feeding misinformation back to the Germans, Chapman successfully diverted bombs away from London, saving many lives. This was achieved whilst playing out the most unconventional and chaotic personal life which entailed balancing two fiancées on either side of the war and rearing his beloved pet pig Bobby.

Denise Austin (died 1997) was a compassionate Irish zoo worker. During WWII, the government ordered the death of all animals in Belfast Zoo in case they escaped in the aftermath of the Blitz bombings. Distraught at this prospect, Austin defied instruction and smuggled home a baby elephant called Shelia. Although Shelia often ventured out on evening walks, her existence remained largely unknown to her neighbours. By the time Austin was forced to return Shelia to the zoo, the elephant’s life was no longer at risk and resultantly they both survived the war!

Elsie Inglis (1864 - 1917) was a remarkable Scottish surgeon and suffragist. Shocked by the inequality of medical care available to women, Inglis overcame contemporary gender discrimination and trained as a surgeon, after which she established hospital wards and maternity units throughout Scotland. When WWI broke out, unperturbed by the War Office orders to “go home and sit still”, Inglis set up medical units across Europe and fully staffed them with women. Inglis’ persistent challenge to convention ultimately supported and saved many lives.

Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was the revolutionary who led the Risorgimento that broke the shackles of foreign domination and unified Italy. Having long sailed the world fighting for the liberties of suppressed peoples, the charismatic Garibaldi earned himself a reputation as a master of the sword. In 1860, he raised an army of a thousand volunteers, sailed to Sicily and, marching through the lemon fields, overturned the oppressive Neapolitan rule. This symbolic and significant victory was the beginning of the formation of Italy and earned Garibaldi a much-celebrated popular legacy.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), whose disregard for convention culminated in the influential avant-garde of Cubism. In his early years, succumbing to the romantic allure of Paris, Picasso mixed with an assortment of eccentric characters as he slept in the day and painted by night. He was even known to burn his portraits of beggars and prostitutes to provide warmth in his impoverished Parisian flat. His style developed as he experimented with revolutionary influences. In 1907, inspired by the power and simplicity of African art, he painted his Cubism masterpiece, the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which changed the face of art forever.

Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734) was an infamous Scottish outlaw. At the wee age of just 18, he joined the Jacobite risings, led by “Bonnie Dundee”, which sought to reinstate King James II to the throne. For the next 30 years, he flirted with various uprisings in the Scottish Highlands, often taking up arms against the establishment. Alas, after many close shaves he eventually surrendered only later to escape briefly before being tragically recaptured soon after. Despite his unruly past, his mass popularity was such that he was granted a royal pardon. Bar the odd duel, Rob Roy spent the rest of his days peacefully with his cattle.

Erno Rubik (1944-date), is an eccentric Hungarian professor. Determined to bamboozle even his brightest students, Rubik resolved to design a puzzle of apparent physical and spatial impossibility. Finally, with rubber bands and wooden blocks, he constructed what was to become known as Rubik’s Cube. The toy industry oligarchs, however, rejected the cube as too complex for the simple-minded masses. Fortunately, Rubik knew otherwise and pressed ahead. It is the world’s most successful toy; one in eight of the world’s population has tried the challenge, with only a fraction successfully completing it!

William Herschel (1738 - 1822), the innovative astronomer is celebrated in this pattern. Migrating to Britain at 19 years old as a budding musician, Herschel soon turned his attention from stardom to star-gazing. Dissatisfied with the telescopes of his time, he learnt to construct his own and went on to build more than 400 during his career - the largest being over 40-foot long. Thanks to his new creations, Herschel found himself closer to the stars than anyone before. His pioneering spirit and deep survey of night skies led him to new moons, thousands of stars and the discovery of a new planet: Uranus.

Please note: Let us know by sending an email if you want a design not shown in the list above as we may be temporarily out of stock. Let us know your requirements and we'll give you 'first dibs' on the new stock as soon as it arrives!

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